SS Pedernales

Lake tanker damaged by a torpedo at Aruba, part of the ships remains as dive site

History
Name|

* 1938: Pedernales
* 1957: Esso Pedernales
* 1958: Katendrecht

Owner| Lago Oil and Transport Company (Esso)
Port of registry| London
Builder|

* Cantiere Riuniti dell´Adriatico
* Monfalcone, Italy

Launched| 14 July 1938
Completed| September 1938
Refit| after torpedo attack on 16 February 1942
Homeport| London
Fate| broken up at Rotterdam, October 1959
General characteristics
Type| oil tanker
Tonnage| 4,317 GRT
Crew| 26

SS Pedernales was a lake tanker of the World War II and post war eras. She was built in 1938 in Monfalcone, Italy, and sailed under the British flag. Pedernales was severely damaged in a torpedo attack on 16 February 1942 while anchored at Aruba.

The damaged ship was cut into three sections. The fore and aft sections were joined together, and the ship made her way to Baltimore, Maryland, to be rebuilt. The middle section was left in Aruba and, after being used for a number of years as a target by Dutch gunners after the war, has become a scuba diving site.

The rebuilt portion of the tanker, later renamed Esso Pedernales and Katendrecht, was scrapped in 1959.

## Career[edit]

SS Pedernales was completed in September 1938 by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico of Monfalcone, Italy.[1] She operated as a lake tanker, sailing from Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela to the refinery at Aruba.

On the morning of 16 February 1942, U-156, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Werner Hartenstein, commenced an attack on oil tankers at anchor in San Nicolas Harbor in Aruba as part of Operation Neuland. Among other ships, Pedernales was torpedoed and damaged; it was later was beached by two tugs and abandoned.[1]

Later, the hulk was towed to the Lago Dry Dock on Aruba where she was cut into three sections. The fore and aft sections were joined together and the ship made way under her own power to Baltimore, Maryland, where she had a new midsection installed, and continued her career.[1]

After the end of World War II, the tanker continued sailing under her same name until 1957 when she was renamed Esso Pedernales. After another renaming the following year to Katendrecht, she was scrapped at Rotterdam in 1959.[1]

## Wreck[edit]

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|

The damaged middle section of Pedernales was towed away from the dry dock and was used for many years as a target by Dutch Navy aircraft. The bombing practice scattered the remnants of the wreck into eight sections of wreckage. Portions of the wreck are a popular scuba diving attraction. The three largest sections of the wreck are used daily by local dive operators. The remnants rest in 25 feet (7.6 m) of water at 12°34′44″N 70°03′30″W﻿ / ﻿12.57889°N 070.05833°W﻿ / 12.57889; -070.05833Coordinates: 12°34′44″N 70°03′30″W﻿ / ﻿12.57889°N 070.05833°W﻿ / 12.57889; -070.05833.

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Helgason, Guðmundur. "Allied ships hit: Pedernales". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 10 July 2008.

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Recreational dive sites

Reef diving regions

* Akumal
* Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area
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* Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area
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* Weh Island

Reef dive sites

* Azure Window
* Cod Hole
* Daedalus Reef
* Darwin's Arch
* Devil's Throat at Punta Sur
* Elphinstone Reef
* Eyemouth
* Fanadir
* Frederiksted Pier
* French Reef
* Fowey Rocks Light
* Gamul Kebir
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* Inland Sea, Gozo
* Kennack Sands
* The Manacles
* Magic Point
* Octopus Hole
* Pope's Eye
* Portsea Hole
* Second Valley
* Sund Rock
* St Abbs
* Stingray City, Grand Cayman
* Wolf Rock

| Artificial reefs|

* Edithburgh jetty
* Gibraltar Artificial Reef
* Merkanti Reef
* Port Hughes jetty
* Port Noarlunga jetty
* Rapid Bay jetty
* Shark River Reef
* South Channel Fort
* Osborne Reef

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Underwater artworks|

* Cancún Underwater Museum
* Christ of the Abyss
* Circle of Heroes
* Kristu tal-Baħħara
* Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park

Snorkelling sites|

* Fungus Rock

Wreck diving regions

* Bullhead Point Historical and Archeological District
* Calve Island
* Chuuk Lagoon
* Coron Bay
* Edmonds Underwater Park
* Shipwrecks of Isle Royale
* Loch Long
* Maritime Heritage Trail – Battle of Saipan
* Michigan Underwater Preserves
* Pearl and Hermes Atoll
* Porteau Cove Provincial Park
* Robben Island Marine Protected Area
* Scapa Flow
* Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area
* Tulagi
* Tulamben
* Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
* List of shipwrecks in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
* Ve Skerries
* Wardang Island
* Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly
* Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve
* Wreck Alley, San Diego

Wreck dive sites

* 115 (barge)

| A|

* HMS A1
* HMS A3
* USS Aaron Ward
* Abessinia
* USS Accokeek
* HMAS Adelaide
* SS Admiral Sampson
* MV Adolphus Busch
* Aeolian Sky
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* Agat World War II Amtrac
* SS Ajax
* Albert C. Field
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* HMAS Bayonet
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* Oceana
* SS Onoko
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* P29
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* SS Panay
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* Persier
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* HMS Safari
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* USCGC Spar
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* HMNZS Waikato
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* USS Wilkes-Barre

* USS Yancey
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* Zenobia
* Zealandia
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Cave dive sites

* Blauhöhle
* Blue hole
* Blue Hole (Red Sea)
* Great Blue Hole
* Blue Hole (Guam)
* Boesmansgat
* Cenote
* Dzibilchaltun
* Chinhoyi Caves
* Cocklebiddy, Western Australia
* Devil's Throat at Punta Sur
* Engelbrecht Cave
* Fossil Cave
* Hranice Abyss
* Jordbrugrotta
* Kilsby sinkhole
* Molnár János Cave
* Nereo Cave
* Piccaninnie Ponds
* Pluragrotta
* Pollatoomary
* Ricks Spring
* The Shaft
* Sistema Dos Ojos
* Sistema Huautla
* Sistema Nohoch Nah Chich
* Sistema Ox Bel Ha
* Sistema Sac Actun
* Uamh an Claonaite
* Vortex Spring
* Wakulla Springs
* Wondergat
* Zacatón

Freshwater dive sites

* Blue Hole (New Mexico)
* Blue Lake (Utah)
* Dinorwic quarry
* Dorothea quarry
* Dutch Springs
* Ewens Ponds
* Homestead caldera
* Little Blue Lake
* Logue Brook Dam
* Ponce de Leon Spring
* Rum Jungle
* Silfra
* Vortex Spring
* Wast Water
* Wazee Lake

Training sites

* Blue Abyss
* Capernwray Dive Centre
* Deep Dive Dubai
* Deepspot
* Eccleston Quarry
* Hotel Terme Millepini
* National Diving and Activity Centre
* Nemo 33
* Seacrest Cove 2
* Slickstones Quarry, Cromhall
* Stoney Cove
* Swanage Pier

Related topics

* Black-water diving
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* Low impact diving
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* Scuba diving
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* Underwater diving

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